While I’m not at all tempted to switch, I am impressed with the features…and with a marketing introduction which I admire, and appears to be working; it’s been years since I’ve seen the “Kindle Killer” stories in the blogosphere. 😉

The price is $229.99, which is $60 less than Amazon’s top of the line Kindle Oasis…in fact, you could buy the new Kobo and the entry level Fire tablet for the price of the Oasis.

What does the Aura ONE have going for it?

It can automatically adjust the amount of blue light, meaning it has a day mode, and a mode which won’t tend to disrupt your sleep. While the Fire tablets now have a blue light filter option (“Blue Shade”), that doesn’t adjust automatically and it’s not on the Kindle EBRs. You can also adjust it manually.

Do we want this for the Kindle EBRs? Sure, why not? I actually have my

light turned all the way down when I read in bed…but I do have superior night vision, which may be connected to some color vision deficiency.

It has built-in Overdrive: borrow e-books from your public library easily. It looks to me like you set up OverDrive with your public library, and then you’ll have a choice of buying it or borrowing it from your public library (if available). Seems like it will just be a tap of a button, although it might not be quite that simple.

Why would they do that? Won’t that hurt their sales?

They say they looked at data, and that people who were serious readers both bought and borrowed books.

Yep…there is a “myth of scarcity”, that suggests that there tends to be only so much of a resource, so it will only be allocated in limited ways. In this case, it would be that people spend X amount for books…so, if they borrow a book, that reduces the number of books they buy.

However, it could be that they buy the same number of the books they did before, plus they borrow library books. It could even be that they buy more books…they borrow a book, like it, and then buy other books in the series or buy that book for other people.

Before I mention more features, I want to mention that marketing angle.

Kobo is positioning this as customers being involved in the design process. They say, “Designed with the help of our most passionate customers.”

Now, Amazon has clearly had customers looking at devices before they are released (that’s why they can have blurbs for the announcement press release). They don’t, though, identify those people in the way Kobo is doing. I think that’s effective. It makes people think that Kobo is listening to its customers.

More on features:

It’s waterproof: something Amazon has yet to do (but I think we may see that in new models in September)

They have a lot of options for the appearance of the text: “…weight and sharpness settings exclusive to Kobo, as well as the ability to choose from over 50 font sizes and 11 font types”. The Oasis has nine fonts and eight sizes

The ONE weighs 230g: that’s more than the Oasis when it doesn’t have its cover (it’s 131g or 133g, depending on whether it has 3G or not). The cover adds 107g…which makes the Oasis in its cover heavier than the ONE without a cover…but I would guess many people will read the ONE in a cover

The other big difference is that it is, well…bigger. 😉 That’s in terms of screen size: it’s 7.8″, compared to 6″ for all of the current Kindle EBRs.

Honestly, I don’t think I’d like that better. I had an 8.9″ tablet (one of a bunch of devices stolen in a home break-in), and it was too big to fit comfortably in pockets in my “utility vest” which I wear on the weekends. I like the form actor of the Voyage and Paperwhite. On the other hand, my now discontinued Kindle Fire HDX 7″ isn’t too big, so maybe it would be okay.

Bottom line: I think this has some great features, and Kobo has been, I think, thoughtful in the design. Amazon has other great features, and the obvious one is that it’s compatible with my Kindle books. 😉 That’s by no means the only thing, though: Amazon’s customer service is so good (in my experience, and based on surveys) that it is a major advantage.

I expect this will drive further development on Amazon’s part, giving us Kindleers even better devices in the future.

Bonus deal: speaking of devices, two Kindle EBRs are $20 off at time of writing:

Those are both good models (I own the both). I like the Paperwhite very much, and this is the new entry level Kindle with Bluetooth audio.

What do you think? Which of these features would you want in future Kindles? Have you owned or do you own a Kobo? What would make you switch to another model…if anything? Would you have two different libraries to use two different devices? Feel free to let me and my readers know what you think by commenting on this post.

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help! By the way, it’s been interesting lately to see Amazon remind me to “start at AmazonSmile” if I check a link on the original Amazon site. I do buy from AmazonSmile, but I have a lot of stored links I use to check for things.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

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When the Amazon Kindle was first introduced in November of 2007, there were already more than ten devices dedicated to reading e-books in the US market…it’s just that none of them were doing much here. 🙂 Even Sony, which was a powerhouse in the consumer electronics market, had them…and that included with a non-backlit screen.

Amazon revolutionized the market with their $400 device…having an E Ink screen was important, but there were really two other things which moved it from a techie, niche device to a more mainstream one (at least among readers).

One was the ability to wirelessly download books. Having to cable your device to a computer to get a book was a considerable hurdle to many people.

The other one was…that it was Amazon. 🙂 Now, there was intense skepticism among tech writers that Amazon could successfully introduced hardware, but there wasn’t any skepticism among readers that Amazon could sell them books.

Before the Kindle, the e-book market was techies.

With the Kindle, the e-book market was readers.

Over time, I’ve written about a number of non-Amazon devices…and they aren’t all still around.

I leave the links on the website, even though some of them don’t go anywhere, partially to preserve the list historically. For those of you using screen readers, and even those without, I know it can be difficult to click on a broken link. I’ll go through and re-label those or do something with them to explain the situation.

So, in the USA, for non-backlit EBRs (which is part of how I define an EBR now), it’s largely the Kindle, the nook, and the Kobos.

Part of that may be that people have transitioned reading e-books to tablets…you can get a tablet cheaper than an EBR, and have color, text-to-speech, audiobooks, and animation (for enhanced e-books). The sight-reading experience for me is better on a non-backlit device (I usually read on two different ones a day), but because of text-to-speech, I’d say most of my reading is on my now discontinued Kindle Fire HDX. That’s not just because of using TTS…since that’s my device that does TTS and I usually use that for hours every weekday, it’s the device I carry with me. When I do sight-read at work, it’s on my Kindle Fire.

Okay, let’s take a look at what is available currently (not used or refurbished) from those three companies.

I read on a Paperwhite and a Voyage (two different rooms), and like them both.

The basic Kindle above doesn’t have a light.

The Voyage has a different way to change pages than the Paperwhite.

We may get a new model or more from Amazon this year…I’ve predicted they’ll do a “waterproof” one.

Kobo

Kobo Touch 2.0 $89.99

Kobo Glo HD $129.99

Kobo Aura H20 $189.99

Kobos are seen as being quality devices, and I would consider them perhaps the strongest competitor (going into the future) for the Kindle.

Their Touch is $10 more than the basic Kindle (which also has touch), and the Glo is $10 more than the Paperwhite.

The H20, though, is $10 less than the Voyage…and it is “waterproof”.

Also, those prices are compared to the lowest Kindle prices…and some people don’t want to see ads on their devices in order to get them initially at a discount. If you don’t want the ads, the Kobos are cheaper.

nook

NOOK (they have been inconsistent on capitalization) GlowLight Plus $129.99

Frontlit, touchscreen, waterproof, and it does DRM ePUB (Digital Rights Management protected) which the Kindles don’t.

—

So, what would I recommend?

First, I wouldn’t go with the nook, unless you are already heavily invested in nook books. I just don’t think you can count on the company’s future, especially with regard to EBRs. The company name might be around for a long time, and the nook name may be on tablets, but I think it’s a risk. Also, right from the beginning, the customer service for the devices has been markedly superior (both in execution and policies) for the Kindle over the nook. If you already have nooks and want to stay with this, this is a good model with some nice features.

The Kobos are, from what I understand (I’ve never owned one), good devices and their owners like them. I think Kobo is a much more stable company than Barnes & Noble (looking at EBRs for the latter for sure). I don’t think this is a bad choice, but…

I’d go with the Kindles. Again, Amazon’s Customer Service is great on these, and they fit pretty nicely into the Amazon ecosystem, which you may be using for other things. I also like them as devices. 🙂 For most people, I would go with the Paperwhite. Having the light (it’s a frontlight, not a backlight) is really worth it over the least expensive model. The Voyage is a bit nicer, and there’s nothing wrong with going for that. Again, for most people, though, I think they’ll see the Paperwhite as a better value.

If I look at this again two years from now, I’m not convinced we’ll have the nook (it should survive this holiday season, but might be eliminated in 2017), but I do think we’ll have the Kindles and the Kobos. I don’t see somebody else getting into the market right at this point, although that might happen if reflective screen technology gets a lot cheaper. We may also still see some sort of “dualume” screens, that have both reflective and backlit screens, or reflective screens may add color and/or animation as their technology improves.

What do you think? Did/do you own a non-Kindle EBR? How do you feel about it? Have I left off an EBR in the USA? Am I underestimating Barnes & Noble’s future involvement with EBRs? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help!

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

It’s worth reading the article to get the stats for the reporting publishers involved (HarperCollins, which I now tend to think of as one of the most customer-friendly of the tradpubs…traditional publishers…seems to have done the best).

While not taking too much away from it, I will call out this:

“The increase came despite a decline in U.S. e-book sales, which fell to 29% of trade HBG [Hachette Book Group] sales in the first half of 2014, down from 34% in the same period last year. HBG cited fewer movie tie-ins and the “punitive” action of Amazon as causes of the drop in revenue.”

Book Country interactive genre map: are publishers figuring out how to do discovery without Amazon?

I’ve written before about how Amazon is looking for a way not to be dependent on the tradpubs, and the tradpubs are looking for a way not to be dependent on Amazon.

may train people away from just reading “People Magazine books” (the books you would read about in that mainstream periodical). That’s just one place.

The tradpubs?

Well, they do keep trying things, but I’m not sure I’m seeing that much evidence of success. HarperCollins is participating in the Oyster subser (subscription service), which is one path…and could have contributed to the better year we see above (although it’s hard to say how much influence that income could have, since we don’t know what it is).

One main reason why tradpubs need Amazon is for discovery: how will people find your books if they aren’t on the increasingly easy to access e-tail behemoth?

What you do is hover over the map to find a genre you like, then click on it.

Once you do that, you’ll get

a definition of the genre (those seemed okay to me)

subgenres

“landmark” titles in the genre (I wouldn’t have picked the ones listed

Book Country titles in the genre (I got 165 results for science fiction…none of them well-known that I noticed at first)

latest science fiction discussions

Book Country science fiction people

As you can probably tell, there’s quite a social component to this (there are reviews and such) and what certainly seems to be independent publishing.

The “landmark” titles could be clicked on and purchased…and those appeared to be from tradpubs (traditional publishers).

The site is run by…Penguin Random House.

I think this shows that the tradpubs are trying new things…not sure how successful it will be.

You may find it useful for discovery.

Back in 2009, I listed literary websites, and one of the ones I mentioned (still in operation) is AllReaders.com. I think that has an interesting discovery system, where you can put in elements, and it will find books for you. For example, you could search for a humorous time travel book with clones (I found several). You can search for a librarian who is a super genius (aren’t they all), and so on.

I think we’ll continue to see Amazon and the tradpubs try to make it on their own. I have to say, I probably give the edge to Amazon, since I would guess they have many more customer transactions in a year, giving them more opportunity to figure out what works.

can be ordered starting September 1st (that’s not the one being given away).

It is $179.99, so certainly on the high end for an EBR (E-Book Reader)…but lots of people worry about reading their Kindles in the bath or at the beach, and this seems like a good solution. In case it starts to rain, I carry a gallon-size Ziploc bag. I can seal it…and keep reading. 🙂

What do you think? Besides Amazon, where do you find out about books? What’s the weirdest, most specific book topic for which you’ve ever searched? Had a Kobo? Have you had an EBR/tablet water damaged? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

What I’m reading makes it sounds like they’ve improved the appearance. Also, reportedly, you’ll only see the screen redrawn every 100 screens or so…and battery life still sounds comparable to competitors’ devices.

Certainly, Kobo is a worthy company in the EBR (E-Book Reader) market, even if they aren’t that big here in the USA.

They’d best bask in the spotlight while they can. No wi-fi Paperwhite appears to be available new from Amazon now, although the 3G model is. That strongly suggests to me an announcement soon…it wouldn’t surprise me if it was tomorrow (given Amazon’s history with Wednesday announcements).

Kobo will apparently continue offering the more expensive Aura HD, and their other models (mini, glo, and touch).

One is “reading mode”. Essentially, that cuts off all distraction from reading…saving battery charge life and making the “unitaskers” out there happier. 😉

They are also spiffing up the stores, with interest specific stores…kids’ books and magazines, for example.

I’ll stop there, since I don’t want to take too much away from the reporting of others.

Does it make sense to buy a Kobo?

I do think they are an innovative company with an interesting future, even though they may not tend to do anything too wild or out there.

However, I don’t think they can match Amazon in services, including Customer Service.

For example, one of the big attractions for me of the Kindle store is that you can “return” a Kindle store book for a refund within seven days of purchase. You can decide why you want to return it…up to you. Naturally, if you abused the privilege (you bought 100 books in three months and returned every single one, as a hypothetical), you’d hear about it from Amazon and they might drop you as a customer, eventually (that’s about the last thing they ever want to do).

That doesn’t make them out of the norm…last I checked, you couldn’t return e-books to Barnes & Noble or Sony, either.

It just makes Amazon extraordinarily good in this.

My guess is that Kobo users are happy with their devices, and that they will continue to come up with tweaks that make the reading experience better. I expect them to be around for quite a while, in part because of their strength outside the USA (I can’t say the same for Barnes & Noble…I would put B&N more in the category of “I think they might…”).

I do think that Amazon offers more in terms of the broad customer experience. Their integration of books with other content, and with physical objects, does make sense to me. Why shop in ten stores if you can shop in one and get better services, prices, and selection?

Amazon just announced something that might become very important in this

You can’t read your Kindle store books on it, but it does do Adobe DRM (Digital Rights Management). It might be good for emergencies…you know, like that little donut spare tire in your car. 😉

It also might be good for classrooms or offices, if you are just doing public domain titles, or proprietary company documents.

I don’t think this will force Amazon to match the price with the Mindle, but I’m sure they are not unaware of it, and will be looking to see how it does as they st the pricing for any new hardware they might introduce this year.

Um…like forgetting how to punctuate a contraction? 😉

On the other hand, I have to admit I was amused by this with Kobo. I really try to match my adult kid’s approach to grammar. My kid is a linguist, and tries to get me to not be so strict about English, since it is evolving.

However, the irony of the headline on this Kobo blog post caught my eye:

Oh, they don’t call it “RSKs”, by the way…that’s one of my terms, and a lot of people don’t like that I refer to them as “reflective screen” devices. 🙂 Technically, that is what they are (you read by light reflecting off the screen, the same way you read paperbooks), but people think a reflection means a glare, so they do (I think understandably) think there might be some confusion about whether a hard-to-read-in-the-sun tablet is a reflective device or not. It’s not reflections that make those backlit devices hard to read, it’s because they are competing with the sunlight…but I understand.

These are books for the Kindle Paperwhite, Mindle, DX, that kind of thing…where you make choices which affect how the story continues.

While the Fighting Fantasy and Lone Wolf books (which some of you may remember from paper) are classified here, the Choose Your Own Adventure books are not. I think that might be up to the publisher, as most categorization is.

These can certainly be fun, and I think they can appeal especially to tweens, who do find the ability to control things (besides just their families) 😉 something that they don’t always have, but are looking forward to being able to do in the future.

the play (not a musical, I think…disappointed?) 😉 will be written by Rupert Holmes, who did The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Re-purposed books…as art

Okay, this is probably about as close as you’ve seen from to a rant. 😉

From time to time, we are either in places where artists are selling their works, or I see them online. People will take books (and vinyl records), and gut them, or restructure them some way to turn them into art. They may use actual book covers to create other book covers, or tear up pages to get words all in a mish mash.

Yes, it looks arty, but a little part of me dies every time I see one. 😉 Intellectually, I know that the books are the words, not the physical objects, but still…somebody could have read that book, and can’t now.

This is one of those cases where I’m guessing that some of you have the same reaction…but I know that people technically have the right to do that sort of thing with copies of paperbooks.

What do you think? Is making art of books okay? Are you a big Outlander fan? How do you feel when you see something where it looks to you like the grammar is “wrong”…and do you do anything about it? Feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

* A Kindle with text-to-speech can read any text downloaded to it…unless that access is blocked by the publisher inserting code into the file to prevent it. That’s why you can have the device read personal documents to you (I’ve done that). I believe that this sort of access blocking disproportionately disadvantages the disabled, although I also believe it is legal (provided that there is at least one accessible version of each e-book available, however, that one can require a certification of disability). For that reason, I don’t deliberately link to books which block TTS access here (although it may happen accidentally, particularly if the access is blocked after I’ve linked it). I do believe this is a personal decision, and there are legitimate arguments for purchasing those books. In this particular post, I decided to list the title, since the news story is more about the play than about buying the book, but I did not link to it

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